But despite the big boost to F1\u2019s next generation, the key to the 2026 driver market won\u2019t be youthful potential.<\/p>\n
It will be proven experience. Decades of it.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio P\u00e9rez, marshalling 527 starts and 16 wins between them, are the headliners of the impending silly season.<\/p>\n
Bottas is biding his time as the Mercedes reserve driver after being dumped suddenly by Sauber. He\u2019d previously believed he would be retained to lead the future Audi team from next season only to be told in November he was surplus to requirements \u2014 too late to secure a race drive, leaving him scrambling just to stay in the paddock.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sitting here now without the race seat not because of my own choice,\u201d he told F1\u2019s Beyond the Grid podcast. \u201cIt\u2019s just how things happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely still feel \u2014 and that emotion was quite quick after I knew I wouldn\u2019t get a seat for this year \u2014 that I\u2019m not done yet with Formula 1. I still have more to give.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still the number one thing in my life, and that sensation now that I\u2019ve been watching aside has got stronger and stronger and stronger, and now I really start to miss racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like the way especially the last two years went for me in my career, it\u2019s definitely not the way I want things to finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of last year, some qualifying, some races, I felt like I was performing at my best ever. I haven\u2019t felt any degradation in myself yet. That\u2019s why I just want to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez, on the other hand, has gone to ground since his post-season sacking from Red Bull Racing after a torrid 2024 that saw him obliterated by teammate Max Verstappen in a confidence crisis so dire that it cost the team its constructors championship defence.<\/p>\n
But in one of his few public appearances since, the Mexican left the door wide open to a 2026 comeback under the right circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I find a project that motivates me fully to come back, where the team believe in me and where they appreciate my career, my experience and everything I can bring to a team, it would be very attractive to consider it,\u201d he told the F1 website.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ve given myself at least six months to get all my options on the table and make a decision on what I do next with my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I know all my options, I will make a decision. What is very clear to me is that I\u2019m only coming back if the project makes sense and it\u2019s something I can enjoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent a long time in F1 already, I\u2019ve done most of it. Once you step back, you realise how much you give up in life to be in the sport. So, to be in F1 fully committed, I need the motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both drivers say they have been speaking to teams. Both have suggested they\u2019re looking at mid-season deadlines. And at 35 years old, both know that if it\u2019s not now, it could be never.<\/p>\n
Furious Max ‘deliberately’ RAMS Russell | 00:59<\/p>\n
CADILLAC THE OBVIOUS OPPORTUNITY<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good time to be an experienced reserve driver in Formula 1, with the grid expanding to 11 teams next season, adding two new seats into the mix.<\/p>\n
Cadillac \u2014 formerly Michael Andretti\u2019s bid to join the sport \u2014 intends to bring an American driver into F1, but as its debut draws nearer, it\u2019s clear there are no viable options to fulfil that mission.<\/p>\n
The team also isn\u2019t kidding itself about the challenge of entering Formula 1. It knows it needs experience in the mix to have any hope of hitting the ground running.<\/p>\n
Bottas, with 10 grand prix wins and 20 pole positions \u2014 a formidable record alongside record-setter Hamilton \u2014 is a clear frontrunner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would imagine my experience will help, because now I\u2019ve raced in three different teams,\u201d he told Beyond the Grid. \u201cWith one of the teams I had mega success. With Williams as well I had some great results.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I\u2019m in a good position. I actually see a very interesting project \u2014 something new to Formula 1, an American team with maybe a different view to the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I would be there as a driver, it would be actually very interesting because you can start from scratch. The team starts from zero, and you could actually make a big influence on certain things, which direction to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be very motivating and rewarding when the success comes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he added: \u201cI think they have few drivers on the list.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Andretti intends on combining experience and youth, Bottas\u2019s biggest competitor for the drive is P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n
Mario Andretti, the 1978 world champion now serving as a director of the team, told Fox Sports the Mexican had to be in the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I can tell you is that he\u2019s certainly one of the drivers that\u2019s being considered,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
While P\u00e9rez\u2019s appeal may appear diminished after his bruising Red Bull Racing tenure, Liam Lawson\u2019s worse struggles and Yuki Tsunoda\u2019s ongoing difficulties in that same seat have cast his time at the team in a new light.<\/p>\n
Perez was also a winner before he moved to Milton Keynes, having collected 10 podiums between his stints at Sauber and Force India\/Racing Point.<\/p>\n
Historically Bottas is the better qualifier and P\u00e9rez the better racer, making this a fascinating contest in the context of the new team\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
If it wants a driver who can absolutely validate the car\u2019s performance potential, it will pick Bottas.<\/p>\n
If it wants a driver who can drag the most out of a midfield car in race conditions, it will pick P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the sort of agonising decision that could take time to settle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they are in a massive rush,\u201d Bottas said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been very, very busy trying to get a car on the grid for Melbourne next year or for the first test early next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know my timeline, when I want to know about next year and what plans I need to make \u2014 I think August more or less is a pretty good target for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut hopefully we\u2019ll hear something more soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Does it matter?” – Max & Russell react | 04:59<\/p>\n
ALPINE EMERGES AS POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE<\/b><\/p>\n
Cadillac was thought to be the one clear hope for both drivers in their quest to break back onto the grid, but in recent weeks a potential alternative has appeared thanks to further instability at Alpine, where Franco Colapinto\u2019s sudden elevation to replace Jack Doohan has so far failed to deliver on the expectations set by his Williams promotion last year.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Spain, de facto team principal Flavio Briatore \u2014 who had engineered the change, not least because of Colapinto\u2019s sponsorship purse \u2014 appeared agnostic about the situation he had created, leaving the door open to more changes in pursuit of a concrete decision for 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201c2025 is a year we need to prepare ourselves for 2026,\u201d he said. \u201cSo whatever experiment I need doing, we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know at this moment if Franco will stay for the season or not, but let\u2019s see.\u201d<\/p>\n
It appears to make clear \u2014 in so far as anything Briatore says is totally clear \u2014 that the race for a 2026 seat at Alpine is wide open.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s no coincidence that rumours of talks between the team and P\u00e9rez surfaced last month, with The Race reporting initial contact in early May.<\/p>\n
At the time it was easy to see those talks as a negotiating tactic with Cadillac, but ongoing instability at Enstone means the seat alongside Pierre Gasly is surely up for grabs among external candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably there have been some discussions,\u201d Bottas said. \u201cI do have a management team that are always in the background seeing what is out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do have a Mercedes power unit for the future, which I think is a good call.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re on their second driver this year, and I think the next races will show how that goes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, I think on a struggle street, let\u2019s say, experience can always help.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Bottas also suggested downsides to an Alpine move \u2014 and appeared to hint at possible competing objectives at the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of politics in this sport,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have tens of millions to pay for a seat, for example.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends on the team. I do have some personal partners that could potentially join me, but still not to the extent of some others.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s here that someone like P\u00e9rez could have an advantage over Bottas. Along with high-profile brands like Mobil and Nestle via its Nescafe and Kit Kat brands, the Mexican still counts Carlos Slim Domit as a personal backer. Slim\u2019s father, Carlos Slim Hel\u00fa, is the 19th wealthiest person in the world, with Forbes estimating his and his family\u2019s fortune at US$82.5 billion (A$127 billion).<\/p>\n
Given his hand in shuttering Renault\u2019s historic power unit division on cost grounds and on bringing Colapinto into the fold for his sponsorship, P\u00e9rez would certainly appear to be an attractive choice for team boss Briatore, giving him a second clear path back to the grid.<\/p>\n
‘I’ve done that before… in Mario Kart’ | 02:07<\/p>\n
ARE THERE ANY OTHERS?<\/b><\/p>\n
If not these two teams, then who else?<\/p>\n
Bottas has a clear a long-term relationship with Mercedes and its boss, Toto Wolff, who served on his management team before and after his stint racing at Brackley.<\/p>\n
Both Mercedes drivers are out of contract this season, and Christian Horner has reportedly sounded out George Russell over his availability for 2026.<\/p>\n
Bottas, however, poured cold water on the potential for any change at the German marque.<\/p>\n
\u201cRealistically, I think Mercedes as a team and Toto, are quite content with their pairing at the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKimi is making progress. Yes, he had couple of difficult races recently, but that\u2019s part of the learning curve. I think Kimi is more their long-term investment. George has been doing a great job \u2014 very consistent, getting the most out of the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that Mercedes is quite content with their pairing, so I wouldn\u2019t actually see a reason for change over there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was a team manager, of course I would take Valtteri Bottas as a driver, but you know what I\u2019m saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercedes arch rival Red Bull Racing looms as the only other frontrunning team with a seat available. Yuki Tsunoda is out of contract, and if he can\u2019t find form, it\u2019s inconceivable he\u2019ll be retained next season.<\/p>\n
Given Tsunoda would be the second consecutive Red Bull junior to be chewed up and spat out, there\u2019s reason to think Milton Keynes might think about hiring externally again to bring an older head into the mix, particularly given the seemingly constant risk of an early Verstappen exit.<\/p>\n
With P\u00e9rez having only just been sacked by the team, Bottas would appear to be a viable option.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tough one, because it seems like it\u2019s not an easy car to drive,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously Max is doing the job. He\u2019s really pushing almost beyond the limits of the car, and whoever has been alongside him hasn\u2019t looked great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wonder if that car, to be driven fast, needs a driver with experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they know that I\u2019m keen to race. They know that I would be available for next year. But I don\u2019t know their mindset on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Finn suggested this too could be unlikely, with the team having already rebuffed him last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was put down quite quickly because I think there are certain persons or a person within the Red Bull organisation that for some reason is not a big fan of mine, but that\u2019s life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It appears to be an oblique reference to Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who is believed to hold a quiet grudge against Bottas rumoured to date back to 2021, when the Finn caused a first-turn crash in Hungary that effectively wiped both Red Bull Racing cars out of the race and saw Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes move to the top of their respective title tables.<\/p>\n
The paths back to Formula 1 for Bottas and P\u00e9rez therefore appear to route via the lower reaches of the midfield, with the nascent Cadillac team and the last-placed Alpine squad.<\/p>\n
There are other names reportedly in the mix, with Zhou Guanyu also on the market with Ferrari backing, and other young guns knocking on the door to the sport.<\/p>\n
But 2026 is shaping up as a year for the experienced drivers \u2014 so long as they can mount their case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2024 the Formula 1 season started with no new faces on the grid for the first time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4103],"tags":[29621,72283,6207,48192,48200,72291,186,22631,24994,45207,72282,72305,72280,72303,25001,18904,299,72281,72312,4199,72308,577,707,4200,4292,72297,9824,45220,22626,72313,227,72284,2190,72287,4291,1711,72302,72294,72311,48203,72309,72292,1073,1464,119,72290,72285,45191,72289,300,24993,22617,47246,72301,72307,72295,22604,47251,72288,72299,45200,72304,72300,22612,706,43259,104,79,72293,72306,72310,24989,22607,16,15,25002,22599,72286,72298,72296,860],"class_list":{"0":"post-174743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-agence-france-presse","9":"tag-almighty-shake-up","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-american-driver","12":"tag-american-team","13":"tag-appeared-agnostic","14":"tag-australia","15":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","16":"tag-christian-horner","17":"tag-clive-rose","18":"tag-cold-water","19":"tag-confidence-crisis","20":"tag-constructors-championship-defence","21":"tag-debut-draws","22":"tag-driver-market","23":"tag-eastern-europe","24":"tag-europe","25":"tag-experienced-drivers","26":"tag-experienced-reserve-driver","27":"tag-f1","28":"tag-first-turn-crash","29":"tag-florida","30":"tag-formula-1","31":"tag-formula1","32":"tag-franco-colapinto","33":"tag-frontrunning-team","34":"tag-george-russell","35":"tag-german-marque","36":"tag-getty-images-inc","37":"tag-grand-prix-wins","38":"tag-helmut-marko","39":"tag-historic-power-unit","40":"tag-hungary","41":"tag-impending-silly-season","42":"tag-jack-doohan","43":"tag-lando-norris","44":"tag-learning-curve","45":"tag-long-term-relationship","46":"tag-management-team","47":"tag-mario-andretti","48":"tag-massive-overcorrection","49":"tag-max-russell","50":"tag-max-verstappen","51":"tag-melbourne","52":"tag-miami","53":"tag-mid-season-deadlines","54":"tag-midfield-car","55":"tag-motorsport-adviser","56":"tag-negotiating-tactic","57":"tag-north-america","58":"tag-northern-america","59":"tag-oceania","60":"tag-pole-positions","61":"tag-post-season-sacking","62":"tag-power-unit","63":"tag-power-unit-division","64":"tag-qualifying-session","65":"tag-race-conditions","66":"tag-race-drive","67":"tag-race-seat","68":"tag-reserve-driver","69":"tag-respective-title-tables","70":"tag-season-finale","71":"tag-season-opener","72":"tag-sergio-perez","73":"tag-southern-europe","74":"tag-spain","75":"tag-sports","76":"tag-struggle-street","77":"tag-sudden-elevation","78":"tag-team-manager","79":"tag-team-principal","80":"tag-time-offer","81":"tag-uk","82":"tag-united-kingdom","83":"tag-united-states-of-america","84":"tag-victoria","85":"tag-wide-open","86":"tag-young-guns","87":"tag-young-guns-knocking","88":"tag-yuki-tsunoda"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}